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Sacred Sunday: March 1st – St. David’s Day

St. David’s Day in United Kingdom. People in Wales and those of Welsh origin celebrate the life of their patron saint, St David, and the Welsh culture on March 1 each year. Many people pin a daffodil or leek to their clothes and some, especially children, wear traditional costumes.

St David’s Day largely goes unnoticed across the US, but one community does its upmost to commemorate the most important event in Wales’ calendar.

Who was St David?

St David is the patron saint of Wales, whose saint’s day is celebrated annually on 1 March.

St David (or Dewi Sant in Welsh) was born on the south west coast of Wales, near the present day city of St Davids.

His family was aristocratic. He was educated at a monastery and became a missionary, travelling through Wales and to south west England and Brittany to spread Christianity. He is also supposed to have visited Rome and Jerusalem.

David founded a monastery where St Davids stands today. He died in AD589 and was buried in the grounds of his own monastery. He has been the patron saint of Wales since the 12th century.

In an American enclave of Welsh tradition, the Welsh Society of Philadelphia, which dates back to 1729, claims to be “the oldest ethnic society in the United States”.

Soon after entering the spacious home of past-president David Bevan – doubling up as the society’s headquarters for the evening – there are other cultural signifiers, more in keeping with Penarth than Pennsylvania.

Clayton Ames, chaplain of the society, and rugby fanatic, is keen to discuss Wales’ impending Six Nations fixture against England (which Wales went on to lose 16-21).

Resident musician Jack Williams reminisces over last year’s Cymanfa Ganu, an annual festival of Welsh sacred hymns. Similarly, Wynrhys Coughlan and David Walker Jr – who has brought over a fresh batch of homemade Welsh cakes – wax lyrical on the secret behind a good tesien lap.

St. David Cathedral on the Western Coast of southern Wales.

Amid the chatter, Bill Lewis is quick to emphasise that members of the society – which total close to 300 – are immensely proud of their Cambrian roots, despite some never having been to the old country.

“We have really tried to stay true to the culture of our ancestors,” he explains. “Even though I was born here, I’ve always identified myself as Welsh, as opposed to Welsh-American. Having a Welsh wife also helped!”

Many of the Society’s members can trace their lineage back to the late 1600s, when the first Welsh settlers arrived in Pennsylvania with the hope of establishing a self-governing Welsh Tract.

Members of the Welsh Society of Philadelphia at Cymanfa Ganu.

Attracted by its burgeoning coal industry, a steady influx of immigrants continued to make their way over the Atlantic well into the early 20th Century.

Several town names – christened after places in Wales – still bear witness to that period, such as Bryn Mawr, Tredyffrin, Bala Cynwyd, Radnor and, of course, St Davids.

The society was originally set up as a philanthropic organisation to help newly landed Welsh immigrants – often impoverished and infirm – acclimatise to life in the US.

“Back in the 1700s and 1800s, we nursed you back to health, helped you find work and gave legal representation,” says Mr Williams. “We even built a cemetery for those Welshmen and women who died not long after arriving here.”

The conceit of benevolence on which the society was built seems to have held fast. Today, it awards scholarships to higher-education students of documented Welsh descent based within 150 miles of Philadelphia.

Yet, beyond these four walls, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Welsh Society of Philadelphia – or Wales, for that matter – was a clandestine group.

A plaque on City Hall recognizes notable Welsh Americans.

In addition to its annual St David’s Day banquet, the Society has also diversified its activities in a bid to better engage with the old country: a partnership with the National Library of Wales and plans to schedule a trip to Wales in the next year.

The evening draws to close with a sing-along around Mr Williams on the piano. Traditional hymns Calon Lan and Cwm Rhondda – long appropriated by rugby fans – are sung with joy and gusto by all.

They are then followed by the national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers), bellowed word-perfect and with palpable pride.